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Butch Comegys / Staff Photographer
Attorney Sal Cognetti, front, leads the way with his clients Kevin Smith, left, and Don Kalina, of Highland Associates, to the William J. Nealon Federal Building and U.S. Courthouse in Scranton for their testimony Thursday morning.

Butch Comegys / Staff Photographer
Highland Associates co-owner Don Kalina, left, and his attorney, Sal Cognetti, exit the William J. Nealon Federal Building and U.S. Courthouse in Scranton on Thursday afternoon after Mr. Kalina gave his testimony. Mr. Kalina will be cross-examined by the defense this morning.

Last year, as The Times-Tribune was investigating a county cell tower project federal prosecutors say resulted in a kickback to former Commissioner Robert C. Cordaro, Dunmore attorney Thomas P. Cummings refused to say he was an owner of the company that was awarded the contract or name principals of the firm.

He was far more forthcoming under oath.

The first witness to take the stand Thursday in the public corruption trial of Mr. Cordaro and Commissioner A.J. Munchak, Mr. Cummings revealed that he was the principal owner of John Brayfee LLC, a company he incorporated to take advantage of his experience in cell tower projects and his ties to a funeral director with a "friend" in the county building.

The funeral director was Al Hughes, the star witness of Wednesday's testimony and the man prosecutors say delivered hundreds of thousands of dollars in bribes and kickbacks to Mr. Cordaro. Mr. Hughes served as the liaison between Brayfee and the administration, Mr. Cummings said, practically acting as a fourth commissioner helping to shape the deal and get it done.

The Times-Tribune first questioned Mr. Cummings about the cell-tower project in March 2010, shortly after it was cited in the indictment of the former majority commissioners. Four principals of John Brayfee LLC and Mr. Cordaro each made $14,000 on the deal, according to the indictment. The company was not named, but it was clear from county records that it was Brayfee.

State and local records also pointed to Mr. Cummings. The incorporation papers listed him as Brayfee's organizer and its address as 224 S. Blakely St., the address of Mr. Cummings' law office. The same address was listed on the construction invoice. The Department of State's website listed Mr. Cummings as company president. No other names were listed.

Mr. Cummings told The Times-Tribune his name was the only one on the paperwork "because I'm the individual who filed the registration papers with the secretary of the Commonwealth. â¦ I'm listed as president by virtue of my position of having filed the paperwork," he said. "From a legal point of view, from the date of incorporation, I would have been the only one there."

Mr. Cummings cautioned The Times-Tribune about reporting on his involvement. He said he would consider legal action if he felt the newspaper's reporting was inappropriate.

Asked to name the principals of Brayfee, he said to do so would put him at risk of being sued.

"I do not have authorization from my clients to comment and therefore can make no further statement."

On the witness stand Thursday, however, Mr. Cummings revealed that his "clients" were actually partners. He named P.J. McLaine, also a government witness and a principal of the now-defunct Acker Associates, businessman Glenn Gress and Mr. Hughes. John Brayfee is a fictitious name. There is no such person, at least not in this deal.

Each of the four principals of John Brayfee LLC paid $500 for a share in the project and made $14,000 each when it was finished, a 2,700 percent return on their investment. Mr. Hughes was paid $28,000, from which he was to pay his silent partner, Mr. Cummings said. Prosecutors and Mr. Hughes say that partner was Mr. Cordaro.

Initially, Mr. Cummings was to be the owner of the tower and lease space on it to the county 911 center. He would then be free to lease space to others, such as cellphone companies, and share profits with the county. That plan was nixed late in the game, he said, when Mr. Hughes relayed that the commissioners had decided that the county would own the tower.

Pitching the Brayfee deal for approval at a Halloween 2006 commissioners meeting fell to Tom Dubas, county director of emergency services, who followed Mr. Cummings on the stand.

Mr. Dubas testified that he was "surprised" to learn an hour before the meeting that the tower would cost the county $257,933. Mr. Cordaro told him the tower would be "free," built at no cost to the county, which would could use space on it at no charge, he said.

The Times-Tribune, whose coverage has been mentioned throughout the trial, was again cited as Mr. Dubas testified that Mr. Munchak called him to complain about comments he made in a story about the tower. Mr. Munchak was upset, Mr. Dubas said, but nowhere near as angry as Mr. Cordaro, whom he said called a few days later.

"Basically, he put me more involved in this situation than I ever recollected," Mr. Dubas testified, saying that Mr. Cordaro suggested Mr. Dubas originated the deal with Brayfee. "My recollection was that he told me to deal with Cummings because we were getting the tower for free. â¦ I told him I was pissed. It's b---s---. I basically said I was not going to take a fall for anyone."

Mr. Dubas was followed on the stand by Highland Associates owners Kevin Smith, Dominic Provini and Don Kalina, all of whom testified that Mr. Cordaro and Mr. Munchak extorted bribes from them to keep and get county business. The testimony of all three men, all represented by defense attorney Sal Cognetti, can be summed in Mr. Provini's response to being asked why they chose to pay to play.

"It wasn't the right thing to do," he said. "It was the easiest thing to do."

The question was posed by lead defense attorney William Costopoulos, who until Thursday had left the heavy lifting to his partner, former Pittsburgh U.S. Attorney Jerry Johnson. In a theatrical cross-examination of Mr. Provini, the flamboyant Mr. Costopoulos questioned the witness' depiction of Highland's role as a victim of extortion.

He pointed out that Mr. Provini testified that Highland was awarded a pair of multimillion-dollar contracts after initially refusing to pay bribes to keep work. If Highland officials truly were told they had to pay for government work and refused, why did they get it?

The line drew raucous laughter, but mainly from the part of the gallery where the defendants' friends and families were seated. Mr. Costopoulos will get a crack at Mr. Kalina this morning when the trial resumes at 9:30.

Each of Thursday's witnesses was quick to leave the courthouse, but none seemed in such a hurry as Mr. Cummings. Pursued by a pair of Times-Tribune reporters, he refused to discuss his testimony or the apparent contradictions between what he said on the stand and what he said to the newspaper last year.

Asked repeatedly why he misled The Times-Tribune about his involvement with the cell tower project, Mr. Cummings smiled and hurried down the street, apparently unwilling to answer questions posed by anyone without subpoena power.

Contact the writer: ckelly@timesshamrock.com

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